Apparatus for treating fibrous material



. July 1, 1947. E. L. LUNDG REN APPARATUS FOR TREATING FIBROUS MATERIALFiled Jan. 15, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 N NM o .0, eflololahol e a i Q .Q aR o July 1, 1947. E. L. LUNDGREN APPARATUS FOR TREATING FIBROUS MATERIALFiled Jan. 15, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 1, 1947. E. L. LUNDGREN2,423,425

APPARATUS EOR TREATING FIBROUS MATERIAL v Filed Jan. 15, 1944 5Sheets-Sheet 3 1 i Wu Wfi 02 MINIMUM! i INVENTOR.

BY MA July 1, 1947. E. LJLUNDGREN APPARATUS FOR TREATING FIBROUSMATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 15, 1944 IN VEN TOR. 57/0 L.mam/13m BY M4 5 SheetsSheet 5 will/1111111 a a Filed Jan. 15, 1944 E L.LUNDGREN APPARATUS FOR TREATING FIBROUS MATERIAL Jul 1, 1947.

v INVENTQR. Eric L. luwrem B Patented July 1, 1947 APPARATUS FORTREATING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

Eric. L. Lundgren,

Braddock Heights, Md, as.-

signor to Ox Fibre Brush Company, Inc a cor-- poration of Delaware.

Application January 15, 1944, Serial No. M85358.

11. Claims.

1 The processing of fibrous bodies. or masses to extract the fiberstherefrom in a usable form has heretofore been anexpensiveand sometimesdangerous procedure. For example, the shredding or decorticating of thetough stalk-like material,

stripped from the buds of the cabbage palmetto has required eithertedious, shredding by hand or very dangerous shredding with the aid ofa, shredding machine in which, the slab-like fibrous materi-al was fedby hand against a rotating toothed shredding member, or the like. Ineither case, the job is likely not to be done thoroughly. The fibers arebound together by crusty or pulpy ma.- terial which is very undesirablein the finished fibers and should be completely removed.

According to the present invention, the shredding and cleaning processis performed automatically without danger to the operator and in a verythorough and satisfactory manner. Generally speaking, the process isperformed by feeding the slab-like mass or boot automatically to thebite of a pair of spiked cylinders and moving it along in a directionconverging toward said bite so that the. boot is shredded progressivelyfrom its free end toward its held end. Afterwards, the other end islikewise treated. Preferably the boot is fed by means of clamping oneend between a pair of endless V-belts which draw the boot through atortuous path so that it is held firmly at all times and so that it isturned constantly about the axis of the boot so that the spikes of thecylinder will penetrate through it at different angles. and thoroughlyclean the undesired material therefrom. Preferably also the boot passesfrom the first holding means to another holding means which engages thecleaned end of the shredded boot to feed the other end into a secondpair of spiked cylinders in like manner so that all the fibers of theboot are strippedclean.

Of course many other materials may be treated on the same or similarmachines. Even fibrous material which is already clean and free may becombed and straightened out on such a machine. For some processes, thespiked cylinder may be replaced by other types of cylinders, such asbrushes or buffers.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following escription and from the drawings in which Fig. 1 is aplan view of the embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the holding belts and the drivetherefor;

Fig. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional 2 view taken approximatelyon. the irregular line 3-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a similar View takenapproximatel-y on the irregular line 4-4of Fig. 1,;

Fig, 5 is a fragmentary view showing the side elevation of one of thefeeding units on a somewhat larger scale; and,v

i 6 is a. somewhat diagrammatic view taken approximately on the line.6-43. of Fig. I.

A preferred form of the. invention has. been chosen for illustration.and. description, in compliance with, section 4888 of the RevisedStatutes, but persons skilled in the art. will readily perceive othermeans: for accomplishing the same results, and the claims, are.therefore, to. be. construed as broadly as possible, consistent with theprior art.

General description For the purpose of; describing the invention. itwill be assumed that the material tobe treated is made up of the,slab-like sections or leaves of the buds of the cabbage palmetto. Forconvenience, these leaves may be spoken of as. boots, the term beingperhaps suggestive of their toughness and thickness.

The palmetto boot it is fed (after: preliminary treatment) to themachine at the left-hand end of the frame-structure H. as the machine isviewed in- Fig. 1. One end of each of the boots is placed between theholding belts l3, which are V-belts, as seen in Fig; 4, and which asseen best in Fig. 5 willgrip one end of the boot firmly and; carry italong the machine longitudinally. As it progresses, its free end comebetween two spiked cylinders M as is best seen in Fig. 3. As the bootsprogress along, they pass further and further in between the cylindersI4 so that relatively speaking, the cylinders begin shredding the bootsat their ends and work further and further along the length of the boot.The teeth or spikes iii of the cylinders are so arranged that theyintermesh so that no boot can pass through the bite and remainunshredded.

The cylinders, of course, exert a substantial pull on the boot. Althoughthe force of this pull is not enough to pull the boot from between theholding belts, it is great enough to swing the boots into alinement withthe direction of pull. Accordingly, the boots should be fed inapproximate alinement. In the illustrated machine, the axes of thecylinders are displaced 22 /2 from the longitudinal direction of thebelts l3 and hence the boots should be fed, the same angle from theperpendicular. When, the boots have passed the length or the firstcylinders it, th y h swung around to the opposite inclination byinteraction between a slow moving belt [8 or pair of belts engaging oneend of each g oup an the fast moving belt is or pair of belts engagingthe other end of the same boot. This interaction swings the boots to theapproximate position shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 1 in whichposition, it is fed by the belts l8 and 9 to the second pair of holdingbelts 23 which carry the boots in the bite between the second pair ofspiked cylinders 24.

The holding belts 23 and spiked cylinders 24 are similar to the holdingbelt l3 and spiked cylinders I4. As the boots travel the length of thecylinders 24, each boot is shredded from the end which was previouslyheld in the belt l3, progressively longitudinally along the boot untilall of the portion of the boot which was not shredded by cylinders M hasbeen shredded by cylinder 2 They are then expelled from the machine bythe holding belts 23 and are taken by hand or conveyor to the next stageof their treatment which may be a drier.

Holding belts An important feature of the present invention is in themeans for holding the boots by one end thereof as they are moved throughthe machine. It is, of course, necessary that they be held firmly allthe time that they are being acted upon by the spiked cylinders. It isalso highly desirable that they be twisted constantly approximatelyabout their longitudinal axes so that the angle of movement of thespikes through the boot will be constantly changed so as to presentdifferent sides of the boots to the spikes, thus preventing the mereslicing of the boot in parallel planes. According to the presentinvention, both the firm holding and the constant twisting areaccomplished by gripping the boots between belts which are led between aseries of guide rollers so positioned that all parts of the belt arearouately disposed about one or another of the guide rollers so that thebelt tension is effectively applied at all points.

As seen in Fig. 5, the upper and lower holding belts I3 follow similarpaths. Specifically the upper belt passes around drive pulley 26 underguide pulleys 2! and 28, around tensioning pulley 29, guide pulley 3iand end pulley 2'32 and back to the drive pulley 25 through the pressurepulleys 33 and 34. companies it through these The arrangement of seriesof V-type The lower belt acpressure pulleys.

the pressure pulleys 33 and 34 is best seen in Fig. 4. The lowerpressure pulleys 34 rotate on fixed shafts. The upper pressure pulleys33 rotate on shafts 31, each of which is pivoted as at 38 so as to bemovable approximately vertically about the pivot 38. It is urgeddownwardly toward the pulleys 34 by a spring which may be adjustablytensioned by nut 41.

As seen in Fig. 5, there are no straight portions of the belts withinthe series of rollers 33 and 3 Hence the tension of the lower belt isapplied against the upper belt throughout the curve around each of theupper rollers 33 while the tension of the upper belt is likewise appliedtoward each of the lower rollers 3 3 throughout the curve around saidrollers. passes between a given roller 33 and an adjacent roller 34, theroller 33 will yield to accommodate the boot but the arcuate position ofthe lower belt will be maintained under the boot to hold it firmly atall points.

The extent to which the boot is twisted about As the end of a boot 7 itslongitudinal axis as it passes between the rollers depends upon thespacing of the rollers. Of course it is desirable to have the twistingextend through a fairly wide angle so as to present the different sidesof the boot to the spikes which operate in vertical planes. However, ithas been found that if the angle is made more than approximatelydegrees, the belts have a tendency to ride off of one another and,therefore 120 degrees or slightly less is the preferred angle oftwisting of the shoes about their longitudinal axes. It may be notedthat this refers to the apparent angle of twisting, i. e. the angleabout a roller axis through which the belt is in contact therewith. Thetension of the belt and the thickness of the boot may reduce this byspreading the upper and lower rollers apart. Of course any twist ing isbeneficial and a very small amount of twisting would probably producenearly complete separation of the fibers, although it might not causethem to be cleaned off as thoroughly as with the preferred l 29 degreeangle. The larger twisting also has the advantage that it isaccomplished with fewer pressure rollers. For less twisting, the rollersin the upper series should be spaced more closely together and therollers in the lower series should be spaced more closely together sothat the angle from the center of one roller to the center of the twoadjacent rollers in the other series would be less than the angle shown.Of course with the same size rollers, this would necessitate greatervertical separation of the centers of the rollers.

Around each of the pressure rollers, the firmness of the gripping of theboot will depend somewhat on the tension of the outer belt. Thistensioning is adjusted by nuts 42 which adjust the compression of spring53. The spring 43 tends to tilt the beam 44 so as to raise or draw outthe tensioning pulley 29. For the sake of simplicity, the tensioningdevices have been omitted from other figures.

The construction is substantially the same in connection with the secondpair of holding belts 23.

Drive of holding belts Although the holding belts could be driven in avariety of ways, that illustrated is at present preferred and has adefinite advantage of simplicity with a minimum of wear on the belts.

A motor 38 drives a gear reducer ll through a belt 48. A chain 49 isdriven by the gear reducer and passes around sprockets 5i and 52.

With slight variations in the belt thickness or in the size or grooveshape of the pulleys 26, the upper and lower belts would be driven withdifferent peripheral speeds if the sprockets 5i and 52 drove theirrespective drive pulleys 26 at the same speed. This would cause aconstant rubbing of one belt surface on the other with resultant wear ofthe belts and less firm holding of the boots. According to the presentinvention, the drive of the belts is automatically equalized.

This can be explained best with reference to Fig. 4. Sprocket 52 whichis driven by chain 43 is keyed directly to shaft 53 on which lower drivepulley 26 is also keyed. Sprocket 5!, however, is not keyed to shaft 5 1on which upper pulley 23 is keyed, but drives it through a frictionclutch or slip device 56. Furthermore, the sprocket 55 is slightlysmaller than the sprocket 52 so that it makes one revolution with lessmovement of the chain 39 and hence has a higher rotational speed. Inother words, the sprocket El tends to drive its belt I3 faster thansprocket 52 drives its belt IS. The clutch 56 slips just enough topermit the two belts to move at equal peripheral speeds. The tension onthe clutch 55 is adjustable by a nut 58. Although there is constantslippage within the clutch, unless the belts just happen to move at thesame speed without such slippage, the amount of the slippage is veryslight and the wear is spread over the various faces of the clutch disks59. Accordingly, the deterioration of these disks will be slight andthey will not often need replacement.

The speed reducer il also drives a chain or belt 6!,which in turn drivesa shaft 6'2 to drive a chain 549 which drives the belts 23 in the samemanner as the chain d drives the belts I3.

Turning belts As previously stated, it is desirable that the bootsbe fedto each pair of cylinders 24 with the longitudinal axis of the bootlying in a plane perpendicular to the axes of the cylinders so that thepull of the spikes on the cylinders will be longitudinally of the boots.If the boots are to be moved along a generally straight course, it is,therefore, necessary for them to be turned from the position shown atthe left in Fig. l to the position shown at the right in said figure.This is accomplished by a transfer conveyor including the turning beltsl8 and it onto which the boots pass as they leave the grip of the belts3. The belt 18 moves slower than the belt l9 so that the end of the booton belt 19 moves faster than the end of the boot on belt is and hencethe boots are turned to the desired position.

It makes little difference whether the one belt is speeded up or theother retarded. At present, it is contemplated that one be retarded.This is easily accomplished by driving the belt ill by pulley 63 fast onshaft 64 which is driven by pulley 66 also fast on shaft E56. The pulley66 in turn is driven through a belt 6'! by a smaller pulley (58 which isdriven through shaft 68 with one of the end pulleys 32. The secondpulley H for belt 3 is an idler pulley on the shaft 69. Since the pulley63 is smaller than the pulley 65 and since the pulley 63 is smaller thanthe pulleys 32 (and 1!), the speed of belt is is considerably less thanthe speed of belt 23 which is the same as the speed of belts l3 and E9.The belt I9 is driven by a pulley l2 which is fast with the pulley 26 onshaft 53. In fact, pulleys l2 and 26 may be made up as a double pulley.The belt l9 also extends around an idler pulley T3 suitably carried bythe frame structure.

With some materials or under some conditions, it may be necessary toprovide pressure belts above the belts l8 and I9. Of course they canreadily be provided if necessary and can be driven if necessary. Also awide belt between the other two belts and of an intermediate speed couldbe provided.

In order to accommodate boots of different lengths, it may be desirableto shift the boot endwise or laterally of the machine an adjustableamount as it is turned. If a line is drawn through each of the two setsof gripping belts in Fig. 1, there will be a certain spacing between thelines. This spacing might depend either on the length of boot for whichthe machine is designed or on the diameter of the cylinders, or both. Inany event, with a given machine, it may be desired to treat boots whichare shorter than the distance between the two imaginary lines mentioned.In that event, it will be necessary to shift the boots endwise afterthey leave one set of gripping belts in order for them to come intoalignment with the other set of gripping belts. It is, therefore,preferred that pulley 63 b adjustabiy positioned on shaft 64 and thatpulley it be likewise adjustably positioned on its shaft. In the case ofshort boots, each of these pulleys will be moved toward the end of itsshaft, thus, in effect, swinging the transfer conveyor to run at anangle slightly cross-wise of the machine. In fact, the pulleys 63 and 13have been shown slightly out of their alined positions. By using V beltsnarrower than the belt receiving grooves at their'peripheries so thatthe belt rides slightly inside of the periphery, a lateral movement offour inches with. a longitudinal movement of 28 inches has been found tobe practical. If an intermediate fiat belt is used, its drive roller maybe driven through a universal joint.

Cylinders The spiked cylinders It may be constructed in any suitablemanner. The form at present preferred is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6.Each cylinder is made up of a number of spoked wheels 16 mounted on ashaft 11, and a plurality of spiked bars 18 bolted or otherwise securedto the rims of the wheels 46. It is desired that the bars be removablefor replacement since the spikes gradually wear down. The spacing of thespikes along the bars is largely a matter of choice, but a spacing of ofthe spikes on each bar is regarded as satisfactory.

Because of the wear on the spikes, the span.- ing between the cylindersis preferably adjustable. In fact, it is preferred that the two ends beindependently adjustable sinc the spikes are likely to wear more rapidlyat one end of the cylinder than at the other. To this end, the two endsof one of the shafts i! may be mounted in selfaligning bearings 14 Whichmay be moved toward and from the other shaft by loosening nuts 15 andturning suitable srews 15'. Of course the other shaft Tl may have suchbearings also, even if the vertical adjustability is not provided forthem. Roller type self-aligning bearings may be used if preferred. Atleast one bearing on each shaft should provide for end thrust so as tomaintain the spikes of the two cylinders properly spaced. For example,collars 14' with set screws may position shaft ll in bearing 14.

In order that there be the least possible opportunity of the fibers toescape the spikes without being separated, it is'preferred that thespikes intermesh in approximate alignment and the spacings of thecylinders be such as to produce a considerabl overlapping of th spikesof one cylinder with thos of the other, as illustrated.

The drive for the cylinders is best seen in Fig. 3. A separate motor it!may be provided for each pair of cylinders and it may drive thesecylinders by a chain at, as clearly seen in Fig. 3, the angulardisposition of the parts being seen more clearly in Fig. 1. The motor i9which drives the first pair of cylinders is preferably connected througha cut-01f switch which is controlled by a chain across the feedingposition of the apparatus so that if an operator who is feeding theboots to the belts it should put his arm too far forward, or should becaught in the machine, the cylinders would automatically be stopped. Asa matter ofv fact, it is also preferred that the drive motor 49 fordriving the belts l3 be sto ped in like manner.

Washing It is desirable that the non-fibrous material which is loosenedfrom th fibers be washed away. To this end, nozzles 8|, connected to asuitable water supply, are provided adjacent the end of each cylinder todirect streams of water into the cylinders. It will be understood thatthe bars 18 serve as centrifugal impellers to direct the water and airfrom within the cylinder outwardly thereof. The nozzles 8| arepreferably so disposed that the great bulk of the water therefrom isthrown onto the boots at approximately the portions thereof which arebeing acted upon by th spikes. However, the water, of course, has atangential velocity and hence it flows at high speed longitudinally ofthe fibers in the direction toward the free end of the boot, and hencecontinuously washes from the fibers all the loosened material. Suitablemeans for catching the water, such as a sluice 83, is provided. Thissluice preferably leads to a suitable drain and both the sluice and thedrain may be periodically flushed. The air stream which is also impelledalong the fibers by the bars 78 aids in the cleaning operation.

From the foregoing it is seen that apparabus has been provided forthoroughly cleaning and separating the fibers of a palmetto boot orother material automatically and without danger tothe operator and withan exceptionally high degree of efficiency. The boot is moved along astraight path while being constantly twisted about its longitudinal axisand while being progressively fed into the bite of a pair of spikedcylinders which quite thoroughly clean it from one end to a mid-portionthereof after which it is fed in lik manner to another pair of cylinderswhich clean th other half of it.

Before the boots are run through the machine, they will preferably besuitably treated for softening the pithy or resinous matter which bindsthe fibers together. The softening treatment may include anyconventional treatment, such as boiling the boots under any suitablepressure and temperature in water or other fluid or steaming them.Preferably also they are hammered, especially at the thicker and tougherends of the boots. A convenient way of hammering them is to run themthrough sort of hammer mill which may compris an anvil roller beneaththe boots and above the boots a series of steel rings carried fioatinglyOn pins between a pair of rotating disks; the spacing of the disks fromthe anvil roller preventing contact of the rings with the anvil roll,when no boot is between them, and determining th hammering force exertedon th boots. The rings are internally many times larger than the pins sothat they may freely yield against centrifugal force as they strike theboot. This hammering with conventional softening adapts the boots verysatisfactorily for being run through the illustrated machine. The thicktough end is preferably shredded first since it would be difficult tohold the boots in position from the other ends after the other ends hadbeen shredded.

For some types of material tobe treated, it is desirable to support thematerial between the holding belts l3 and the cylinders. This can beaccomplished by providing a table 9] and a seies of water or air nozzles92 connected to a header 93 and having their outlets disposed to directstreams of water across the table 9| in directions lying approximatelyin vertical planes perpendicular .to th axes of the cylinders. If wateris used, the stream of water serves both for drawing the fibers outstraight and for lubricating the table. Under some conditions, thetables could be dispensed with since the water itself or air could beadequate for supporting the fibers. Nozzles 92 may be above or below thestream or both, although the lower position is preferred. It may also bpreferred in some instances to arrange the cylinders side by sidehorizontally (instead of one above the other) and position the belts i3above them so that the fibers may hang down toward the cylinders. Inthat event, it is probable that the nozzles 92 may be dispensed witheven with very flexible fibers.

A wide variety of other materials can be treated in the same machine andother embodiments of the same principles or some of them may be used fortreating an even wider variety of materials. For example, the spikescould be replaced by polishing material for imparting extra luster andstiffness to such fibers as horse hair, waxed vegetable fibre, etc.

I claim:

1. Means for processing material including treating means along whichsaid material is to be moved, and holding means for holding the materialand moving it along the treating means, said holding means comprising apair of endless belts disposed with adjacent runs forming an elongatedbite, and a plurality of pressure rollers on opposite sides of saidadjacent runs and pressing the runs toward one another, the pressurerollers on one run being staggered with respect to those on another runand the two sets of rollers having their axes sufficiently closetogether to cause the runs to be substantially curved about one oranother of the pressure rollers with the curved portions at least asclose together as the width of the units of the material whereby thematerial will be firmly gripped between the runs substantiallythroughout the bite, and means for exerting a driving force on each beltindependently of the other belt, the means for driving at least one ofthe belts including a device adapted to permit it to accommodate itsspeed to the speed of the other belt.

2. Means for processing material including treating means along whichsaid material is to be moved, and holding means for holding the materialand moving it along the treating means, said holding means comprising apair of endless belts disposed with adjacent runs forming an elongatedbite, and a plurality of pressure rollers on opposite sides of saidadjacent runs and pressing the runs toward one another, the pressurerollers on one run being staggered with respect to those on another runand the two sets of rollers having their axes sufficiently closetogether to cause the runs to be substantially curved about one oranother of the pressure rollers with the curved portions at least asclose together as the width of the units of the material whereby thematerial will be firmly gripped between the runs substantiallythroughout the bite, aand means for driving the belts with uniformperipheral speeds in spit of variations in belt and pulley dimensionscomprising a frictional slip device, means driving one belt at a givenspeed, and means tending to drive one of the belts through said slipdevice at a faster speed, said device being adjusted to slip morereadily than the belts slip with respect to one another.

3. Means for treating fibrous masses including means for carrying themasses generally longitudinally through th machine in two stages,rotating treating means in each stage, each tending to pull the massesfrom the carrying means and disposed at an angle with respect, to theother, and means between the two stages for swinging th masses from theangularity appropriate for the first stage to the angularity appropriatefor the second stage comprising belts adapted to engage the masses atspaced points thereon and means for driving said belts at differentialspeeds.

4. Means for separating the fibers of fibrous masses comprising a pairof spiked cylinders disposed to form a bite therebetween and eachrotatable about its axis, means for driving the cylinders, means forfirmly grasping th masses at points remote from one end of each thereofto resist the pull of the spikes, and moving the masses along the lengthof the bite in a direction converging toward the bite whereby said endsfirst and then successively additional portions of said masses are fedto said bite toseparate the fibers thereof progressively from the endsof the masses, the spikes of the two cylinders intermeshing with oneanother lengthwise of the cylinders and being synchronized to reach thcommon axial plane of the two cylinders approximately simultaneously sothat no part of the material being worked upon can escape passingdirectly between the spikes of one cylinder.

5. Means for separating the fibers of fibrous masses comprising a pairof spiked cylinders disposed to form bite therebetween and eachrotatable about its axis, means for driving the cylinders, means forfirmly grasping the masses at points remot from one end of each thereofto resist the pull of the spikes, and moving the masses along the lengthof the bite in a direction converging toward the bite whereby said endsfirst and then successively additional portions of said masses are fedto said bite to separate the fibers thereof progressively from the endsof the masses, means for adjusting the overall spacing of th cylindersfrom each other, including means for adjusting th spacing at one endindependently to take up for any excessive wear of the spikes at oneend.

6. Apparatus for separating the fibers in fibrous bodies including a,pair of endless V belts disposed with runs adjacent one another to forman enlogated belt clamp therebetween for receiving and holding thebodies without rupture thereof, a plurality of staggered V type pressurerollers on th opposite sides of the adjacent runs so disposed that saidruns are substantially continuously curved about one or another of saidpressure rollers whereby the bodies moving through the bite areconstantly firmly clamped between the belts and are twisted back andforth, resilient means for independently urging each of the pressurerollers on one side of the belts toward the belts, independent resilientmeans for maintaining a predetermined tension on each belt, and a pairof spiked cylinders disposed to form a bite therebetween with said bitelying approximately in a plane centered along the belt clamp andsubstantially closer to the belts at the delivery end thereof than atthe receiving end thereof whereby bodies moving along the belt clampwill have first the remote portions thereof presented to the cylindersand then progres- 10 sively closer portions thereof presented to thecylinders, said cylinders rotating in a direction tending to pull thebodies away from said belts, and said belts effectively restraining thebodies against said pull.

7. Means for processing fibrous material including a rotatable cylinderhaving its peripheral body formed of spaced bars and having at least oneend substantially open, means for driving the cylinder with a highrotative speed, nozzle means external of the cylinder and adjacent asubstantially open end'thereof for directing a stream of cleaning liquidinternally of th cylinder and against the 'bars near the point where thework is engaged whereby the liquid, and air, drawn in through the openend, will be churned by the bars and ejected onto the work through thespaces between them with a speed comparable to the peripheral speed ofthe cylinder in a direction generally tangentially along the materialwhereby the mixture of air and liquid will sweep loose matter along thematerial.

8. Means for treating fibrous masses including means for carrying themasses generally longitudinally through the machine in two stages,rotating treating means in each stage, each tending to pull themassesfrom the carrying means and disposed at an angle with respect to itscarrying means and at an angle with respect to the other, and meansbetween the two stages for swinging the masses from a planeapproximately perpendicular to the axis of the first rotating means to aplane approximately perpendicular to the axis of the second rotatingmeans before the treating means of the second stage is encountered bythe masses.

9. Means for treating fibrous masses including means for carrying themasses generally longitudinally through the machine in two stages,rotating treating means in each stage, each tend ing to pull the massesfrom the carrying means and disposed at an angle with respect to itscarrying means and at an angle with respect to the other, and meansbetween the two stages for swinging the masses from a planeapproximately perpendicular to th axis of the first rotating means to aplane approximately perpendicular to the axis of the second rotatingmeans before the treating means of the second stage is encountered bythe masses, the rotating treating'means comprising spiked cylinders.

10. Means for separating the fibers of fibrous masses comprising a pairof spiked cylinders disposed to form a bite therebetween and eachrotatable about its axis, means for driving the cylinders, means forgrasping the masses at points remote from one end of each thereof, andmoving the masses along the length of the bite in a direction convergingtoward the bite whereby said ends first and then successively additionalportions of said masses are fed to said bite to separate the fibersthereof progressively from the ends of the masses, a second pair ofspiked cylinders, means spaced a fixed distance laterally from alignmentwith the first grasping means for likewise grasping and feeding theother ends of said masses and progressively the remainder of said massesto said second cylinders, and conveyor means for moving the massesgenerally in the same direction as their movement by the grasp-ing meansand adjustable to change the direction of movement to include acomponent transverse to said direction and endwise of the masses toaccommodate for different length of 1 1 masses in feeding them to thsecond grasping means.

11. Apparatus for separating the fibers in fibrous bodies including apair of endless V belts disposed with runs adjacent one another to forman elongated belt clamp th'erebetween for receiving and holding thebodies without rupture thereof, a plurality of staggered V type pressurerollers on the opposite sides of the adjacent runs so disposed that saidruns are substantially continuously curved about one or another of saidpressure rollers whereby the bodies moving through the bite areconstantly firmly clamped between the belts and are twisted back andforth, resilient means for independently urging each of the pressurerollers on one side of th belts toward the belts, independent resilientmeans for maintaining a predetermined tension on each belt, and a pairof spiked cylinders disposed to form a bite therebetween with said bitesubstantially closer to the belts at the delivery end thereof than t thereceiving end thereof whereby bodies moving along the belt clamp willhave first the remot portions thereof presented to the cylinders andthen progressively closer portions thereof presented to the cylinders,said cylinders rotating in a direction tending to pull the bodies awayfrom said belts, and said belts effectively restraining the bodiesagainst said pull.

ERIC L. LUNDGREN.

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